I am certain that I was far more excited to attend our first agility class than Kozmo or the other human. Long before I had Kozmo or even owned a dog I dreamed that someday I would have a dog and he would be an agility rock star. I have watched an embarrassing amount of agility on TV and quickly learned the dogs on TV are very well trained and we will have to work really hard for a really long time to ever get to that level.
We walked into the training room and it looked like a doggy playground. I think it's impossible to see agility equipment and not smile. After one class I am fairly certain this is the most fun thing you can ever do with your dog. It is also difficult and challenging, but filled with moments of pure joy.
As with all of our other training the first lesson we learned is that the humans need much more training than the dogs. Dogs by nature are pretty darn smart. They take their cues from humans and when you have a poorly trained human, the smart dog has no choice but to not do what you want. I found it interesting that the primary way I will communicate with Kozmo during agility training is though body language. Me talking to Kozmo (especially in full sentences) really makes no impact.
The first exercise was to have our dogs walk through a ladder. A 10 foot ladder was laying on the ground and we had to walk beside the ladder and ask our dogs to walk through the ladder. This exercise was testing the dogs level of coordination. At first Kozmo wanted to walk outside of the ladder. We soon learned that was because my feet were pointing to the left and not straight forward. I was trying to lure Kozmo along the ladder with a treat and he just wasn't doing so well. My heart started to sink. How could it be that my dog was going to fail the first coordination test? Then the trainer told me to try with no treats. It worked. He walked with his head up and a little spring in his step up and down the ladder.
For the rest of the class Kozmo did exactly what we asked of him. He did every obstacle for me and the other human. He did the teeter totter, tunnel, jumps, went through a barrel and the weave poles. I think the weave poles are going to be really fun. He is also getting the hang of the jump and hand signals. By the end of class I was smiling from ear to ear. I could ask Kozmo to approach a jump, sit and stay. Then with my hand signal I could send him over the jump and he would return to me (with a hand signal).
I got a little brave and tried to send Kozmo through the tunnel without his leash. He went right through the tunnel, like I asked, but then proceeded directly to a big doberman working on the weave poles. The poor dobbie snarled and put Koz in his place. I was able to dive in and grab my dog by his collar and everything was fine. I guess we needed a bit of excitement in class and I needed a reminder to leave Kozmo's leash on for a while.
A one hour class was mentally taxing. I was fried at the end of class but so happy and proud. The trainer had nothing but praise for Kozmo and thinks he has the potential to be an amazing agility dog.
Just to keep me humble and in my place, Kozmo ended class by embarrassing his humans. At the end of class some of the more responsible and prepared dog owners had water for their dogs. Kozmo did have water, but it was in the car. This very generous woman had a huge thermos of nice cold well water. She offered Kozmo a drink. Acting as though we never ever let him drink or give him fresh water, Kozmo started gulping down this nice fresh water. Other humans and dogs tried to walk by as he was gulping in the main walkway to exit the room. Something startled Kozmo and the clumsy goof knocked over the entire container of water!! I wanted to die of embarrassment. Not only did he make a big mess on his first day of school but he also kept the other dogs from enjoying a drink.
We hung our heads and left our first agility class knowing this is going to be a lot of work.
No comments:
Post a Comment